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Introduction

European Union General Export Authorisations (EUGEAs) are the European equivalent of the national system of Open General Licences (OGLs) issued under UK export control law and are designed to licence dual-use exports.

Dual-use Items are goods, software or technology that can be used for either civil or military purposes. The EU is responsible for issuing legislation in this area which is applicable on an EU-wide basis.

EUGEAs are just one of several licensing categories issued by the UK’s Export Control Organisation (ECO), the UK’s national export licensing authority. EUGEAs permit the export of certain specified dual-use Items to certain specified non-EU destinations.

As with OGLs, EUGEAs are legal documents. In order to legally use the authorisations, UK exporters need to ensure that they meet all the licensing terms and conditions including registering before use with the ECO.

Background

Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 (otherwise known as the European Union Dual-Use Regulation) establishes an EU-wide regime for the control of exports of dual-use Items, software and technology. This originally included one EU issued licence known as the Community General Export Authorisation (CGEA) listed in Annex II.

On 8 December 2011, the EU published an amending regulation which introduced an amendment to the existing CGEA and an additional set of EUGEAs which are designed to licence certain specified Dual-Use Items for export to named non-EU destinations. This amendment was published as Council Regulation (EU) No 1232/2011.

There are six EUGEAs:

EU001 - exports to Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland (including Liechtenstein) and the United States - NOTE: this was previously known as the Community General Export Authorisation or CGEA.

To access the republished EU001, you need to read both Annex II published in Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 and the amendments made via Council Regultaion 1232/2011.

Scope and conditions of use

Each of the EUGEAs contains:

a precise list of destinations to which exports are permitted

a specific list of items that may be exported to those destinations

a specific set of conditions of use, which must be adhered to when exporting under the particular general authorisation

The items listed on each licence refer to a control entry heading (or ‘rating’) which should be cross referenced to goods described on the EU Dual-Use List (as published in the EU legislation). This listing is published in the UK as a part of the UK Strategic Export Control Lists. For more information on the lists, you can view the guidance on strategic exports: when to request an export licence and the UK Strategic Export Control Lists - the consolidated list of military and Dual-Use Items.

Availability

EUGEAs are known as ‘Union licences’ which are valid in all member states of the EU. They may be used by any exporter established in the EU (subject to meeting the specified terms and conditions).

In other words, a company established in one member state may export from that or any other Member State (including the UK) under the authority of an EUGEA providing they comply with its conditions and any additional requirements as specified by the competent authorities in the member state where the exporter is established and, where appropriate, any additional requirements of the member state from whose territory the export takes place - for instance, if exporting from the UK, additional cryptographic reporting requirements apply.

Additional UK requirements for cryptography items exported under an EUGEA

The UK has specific requirements relating to the export of certain cryptographic items when exported from the UK under an EUGEA. These requirements concern details of information which is in a person’s possession or other information as that person can be reasonable be expected to obtain. This information should be submitted to the ECO via email to eco.help@bis.gsi.gov.uk within 30 days of first export.

The information required by the ECO is as follows:

a general description of the goods, software or technology, such as might be contained in a product brochure

descriptions of all relevant encryption algorithms and key management schemes, and descriptions of how they are used by the goods, software or technology (eg, which algorithm is used for authentication, which for confidentiality and which for key exchange); and details (eg, source code) of how they are implemented (eg, how keys are generated and distributed, how key length is governed and how the algorithm and keys are called by the software)

details of any measures taken to preclude user modification of the encryption algorithm, key management scheme or key length

details of pre- or post-processing of data, such as compression of plain text or packetisation of encrypted data

details of programming interfaces that can be used to gain access to the cryptographic functionality of the goods, software or technology

a list of any protocols to which the goods, software or technology adhere

These requirements are specified in Schedule 5 of the Export Control Order 2008 (SI 2008/3231). To download a copy of this legislation see the guide about the Export Control Order 2008.

Can I use an EUGEA?

To establish if you can export under authority of a particular EUGEA, you need to review if you can meet all the terms and conditions of the licence. You must read and understand the licence carefully.

EU General Export Authorisations - FAQs

What is the difference between an OGL and a EUGEA?

OGLs and EUGEAs are both licences which permit the export of certain specified goods to certain specified destinations as listed within the licence documents.

EUGEAs are the European equivalent of OGELs and are published by the European Union in the form of Council Regulation (EU) No. 1232/2011, which amends Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 (the EU Dual-Use Regulation).

OGLs are issued directly by the UK’s regulatory authority, the Export Control Organisation.

Both OGLs and EUGEAs provide licensing coverage for controlled goods that are less restricted in nature (ie being exported to non sensitive destinations). Using an OGL (or EUGEA) could potentially save you time and money. However use of either licence involves adhering to all the specified terms and conditions and being subject to ECO Compliance Audits.

I am already an existing licence holder for the Community General Export Authorisation (CGEA). I note that this has been re-named as ‘Union General Export Authorisation’. Does this and the other amendments to the licence mean that I need to re-register to use this licence?

No you do not need to re-register to use the newly named Union General Export Authorisation also referred to as EU001.

Do I have to quote the licence number of an EUGEA when intending to use the licence?

Yes, when exporting goods under authority of an EUGEA, you must enter both the relevant licence code (eg EU002, EU003 etc) and the relevant code X002. This code is entered at Box 44 on the customs declaration form of CHIEF.

Whose responsibility is it to check whether to use a particular OGL or EUGEA?

It is your responsibility if you are the exporter to ensure that you are using the correct licence whether that it is an OGL, EUGEA (or if an appropriate open licence does not meet your exporting requirements,that you apply for a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) or an Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) as appropriate.

I already export my goods under the authority of an existing UK published OGL - what will now happen if, following a Compliance Audit our company is judged to be non-compliant due to using an incorrect licence?

The licences are legally binding from the date that they come into force on 7 January 2012. It is your responsibility when exporting controlled items that you take all reasonable steps to ensure that you use the correct licence. This includes taking action:

to read and understand this guidance

to use the Checker Tools website to help identify an appropriate licence

to seek external legal advice where required

What should we do if we are aware after the introduction of the EUGEAs that we are inadvertently using the wrong licence?

If you realise that you are inadvertently using the wrong licence or you were advised at an ECO compliance audit about use of the wrong licence then you should take immediate steps to register or apply for the appropriate licence on SPIRE.

Depending on the seriousness and exact nature of the offence, you might receive a warning letter or alternatively the ECO might decide to take further steps to suspend or revoke use of the licence.

Where can I obtain copies of the current OGLs and the new EUGEA licences?

All OGLs published by the ECO are available on this website. To access EUGEAs you need to download Council Regulation (EU) No 1232/2011 and print out the relevant licence you intend to use.